Book town in Tokyo: Jimbocho

Today's area, Jimbocho, could be a special place for some of you, who are a bookworm.

How it became a book community

As the area has been a home to many colleges & schools for years, book selling business inevitably became popular in it.

In addition, the fact that many publishers have their offices in the area also reinforced its fame as the world's largest vintage & secondhand book town.

Even in the tiny space like this (this side should be a wall of building!), they set additional bookshelves to appeal their items to the enthusiasts repeatedly coming back to the area.

On the day I was there, a group of foreigners was checking a secondhand bookstore mainly selling movie / TV drama related books & goods. You're highly likely to find a nice book for your souvenir!

The wave of redevelopment

As I suggested above, this area is quite old, so now it's in the middle of dynamic transition. Like paper book has been replaced by e-book, old buildings are now surrounded by concrete jungle, which makes the urban landscape characterless.

But some are still standing proudly like this.

Architecture fans would probably like this area (unless they don't miss these) It seems that old-meets-new is happening right now, just taking a walk will lead you to something appealing.